Dogbane Beetle

Dogbane beetle resting on a window
Scientific Name
Chrysochus auratus
Family
Chrysomelidae (leaf beetles) in the order Coleoptera (beetles)
Description

The dogbane beetle is one of Missouri's most beautiful insects. Like many other types of leaf beetles, it is shiny and iridescent. As the name indicates, this beautiful beetle feeds on dogbanes, including milkweeds.

Learn more about this and other leaf beetles (chrysomelids) on their group page.

Media Gallery
Dogbane beetle resting on a window
The dogbane beetle (Chrysochus auratus) is one of the many leaf beetles that are shiny and iridescent. As the name indicates, this beautiful beetle feeds on dogbanes.
Julianna Schroeder
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Side view of a dogbane beetle resting on a glass surface
The dogbane beetle is one of the most beautiful insects in North America.
Julianna Schroeder
2/3
Dogbane Leaf Beetle
MDC
3/3
Dogbane beetle resting on a window
Side view of a dogbane beetle resting on a glass surface
Dogbane Leaf Beetle
Similar Species
About Land Invertebrates in Missouri
Invertebrates are animals without backbones, including earthworms, slugs, snails, and arthropods. Arthropods—invertebrates with “jointed legs” — are a group of invertebrates that includes crayfish, shrimp, millipedes, centipedes, mites, spiders, and insects. There may be as many as 10 million species of insects alive on earth today, and they probably constitute more than 90 percent all animal species.